page 564 Big Hill Country 1977
Another in our continuing series on Willing, Working, Women, the women behind the Cochrane Library coming into being.
Bill (William George) Lathwell was born in Calgary on November 21 1907, the eldest son of W.T.D. Lathwell, an aspiring lawyer and city Alderman, and Florence (Tweed) Lathwell, a graduate nurse, both from Winnipeg.
Emily (Moore) Lathwell was born on January 29,1909 in Port Clarence, Durham, England, the youngest daughter of a railroad engineer.
Bill and Emily met in 1930 in Sexsmith, Alberta, where Emily was helping her sister and working in town. Bill and his family had moved from the Calgary area to homestead near Debolt, Alberta, at the start of the Depression. They were married in her sister’s home in Teepee Creek – June 19, 1933, and settled into a log cabin on their homestead at Debolt.
Their first child, a son named James, was stillborn and is buried in the Debolt Cemetery next to Bill’s father who had suffered a major heart attack and died in 1932.
Their second son, Robert, was born in 1937, apparently a real handful who kept his mother busy.
Times were tough during the Depression years with swapping, trading and bartering the primary means of obtaining the goods etc. for survival as very little cash was available. Bill joined the Forestry Branch of the Alberta Government to fight forest fires. The net pay was 15 cents an hour after board was deducted. At least there was some cash coming in.
In January 1939 word came of a job opening with a lumber company near Morley. Bill left his family on
the homestead and traveled to Calgary where he was picked up and transported to the camp by car. The first person he met at the camp was his brother Charlie.
Emily and Bobby left Debolt in April to visit her sister and family who had moved to Victoria from Teepee Creek. When she left Debolt the Smokey River was still partly frozen. As she was afraid to take the cable car over the river she walked on the ice to open water then took a rowboat over the water to the ice on the other side then walked to the other bank and from there to the train in Grand Prairie and on to Victoria. Quite an undertaking for a new mother with a two-year-old terror.
As Bill’s new job seemed permanent, she returned to Morley instead of Debolt and took up residence in a new log house. In the early 1940’s the camp was moved to the Moose Mountain area of the Jumping Pound district.
In late 1942 Emily and Bobby were taken out to Bill’s mother’s home in the Sunnyside district of Calgary where their third son, David Thomas, was born in November.
Bill, Emily and family moved to Cochrane in 1943 to allow Bob to attend school.
During the winter of 1944-1945 the lumber company went into bankruptcy so Bill was out of work until April of 1945 when he started working on the drilling rigs for Shell Oil in the Jumping Pound area. This lasted until 1948 when the drilling in the area ceased and the rigs moved east. Bill was out of work again but managed through getting odd jobs around town such as unloading coal cars, hauling and delivering firewood, and haying to keep the family alive. Emily said that if it had not been for Joe and Ernie Andison giving credit they wouldn’t have survived.
In 1950 Shell Oil had analyzed the natural gas situation in the Jumping Pound field and was starting to build a processing plant to supply gas to Calgary. Bill was hired on, the start of a 25 year work experience with a major oil company. Emily took Bill’s first pay cheque and paid off their debts! Bill worked from 1950 to retirement having taken no sick days off, quite an accomplishment!
In 1965 they bought a house to be moved from 16 Avenue. NW in Calgary, to replace the old “Shingle Shack” the family had lived in since 1943.
Both Emily and Bill were avid gardeners and transformed their yard from a barren bald lot to a park-like area. They also planted a huge garden to supply the needs of the family during the winter months. They never seemed to get over the “Depression Syndrome” and were forever cautious of spending money unnecessarily.
Emily helped Mrs. Maguire taking tickets at the town hall during movies and dances. She also was involved with Nancy Boothby in establishing and working in the town library. She was a lifelong member and loved reading. Bill was involved with the group committee during the formation of the Boy Scouts in Cochrane.
Both boys grew up and were educated in Cochrane, Calgary and Olds. They both delivered the Calgary Herald, were involved with the Scouts, camping and horseback riding at Griffins. Bob courted and married Myrna Edge, daughter of Ollie and Ida Edge in 1959. They have two sons Murray and Russell (Tami) and one daughter Andrea (Boyd) Hall. Bob was employed in the oil industry and worked in Calgary, Swift Current, Whitecourt, Carstairs, Lloydminster and Conklin. He retired from Home Oil after 30 years service and now resides south of Cochrane on Ollie’s home quarter.
Dave courted and married Lynn Sibbald, daughter of Clarence and Edith Sibbald, ranchers in the Jumping Pound area. He was involved with rodeo as a Bareback Bronc rider, as a saddle maker in partnership with Chuck Stormes and finally with ranching at Aldersyde, Sundre and Barrhead areas. They have two daughters, Sandra Lind, Lisa (Jay) Maygard and one son Dean.
Emily and Bill have six Grandchildren and nine Great Grandchildren.
After his retirement Emily and Bill frequently traveled to Victoria, the Western States and around Alberta. They also continued to garden and beautify their lot in town. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in June 1998 and received congratulations from all levels of government, friends and family.
Emily suffered a heart attack and collapsed lung in the spring of 1993 and was hospitalized for several weeks after which time she returned home. She passed away at home on April 26, 2001 with her family in attendance. Bill continued to live at home alone, gardening, reading and writing his family history. At the age of 98 he suffered a cracked hip due to a fall while cleaning snow from his back step and spent several months in the Foothills and Rockyview Hospitals. He is currently residing in the Golden Eagle View Care Center in Canmore.
